Islam
Islam '''is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion which professes that there is one God, the god of abraham, and that he has sent many messengers over time who preached the true faith, but which the message of had been corrupted. But one final messenger, Mohammad was sent who restored its true nature, and this is what is known as islam today. Islam is the second largest religion in the world. Unlike the bible, in islam, the holy text of the '''Koran was seen as directly dictated by God. The term Islam refers to submission, which in context means submission to god. (note the low ranking angel wearing submissive-oriented bondage gear. Though nothing about this implies islam in particular). And muslims as a term refers to one who does this. Muslims believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that manifested earlier on in forms such as Judaism and christianity, and which has been around since the beginning of humanity. Part of what they consider the corruptions were for example, was identifying Jesus with God as done by most Christians. Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet, and interestingly one reason there are few christian groups around today which do so is because many of them merged into / converted to islam at the time it started spreading due to having very little dissimilarities with it. Due to being strict monotheists who hold God as having only one identity, Jews consider muslims to be monotheists, but often do not consider christianity fully monotheist. Note that the star and crescent symbol often associated with islam became a symbol of islam by accident rather than design. It is an ancient symbol that was associated with sun and moon gods, and became a symbol of the Ottoman Dynasty, which at the time was the head of the faith. Islam is also heavily associated with the color green. As far as megaten goes, it does not reference islam very much. Which is conspicuous due to it being a major religion. While the religions in-game are based heavily on the real world major religions, and use symbols and outfits from them, islam is borderline ignored entirely, being relegated to a few islam-specific angels, and part of Mastema's outfit. The reasons for this are unknown. Perhaps atlus trying to avoid controversy. For this reason, there won't be very much to mention on this page so it will be a bit shorter than some others that relate to major religions, but it will try to capture the major aspects of the religion at least. Types of Islam Sunni Islam is the main branch, and composes the vast majority of all Muslims who identify with a tradition. Sunnis believe that the first four caliphs were the rightful successors to Muhammad; since God did not specify any particular leaders to succeed him and those leaders were elected. Sunnis believe that anyone who is righteous and just could be a caliph. There are many subdivisions of sunni. Shia. While the Sunnis believe that a Caliph should be elected by the community, Shia's believe that Muhammad appointed his son-in-law, Ali ibn Abi Talib, as his successor and only certain descendants of Ali could be Imams. Most muslims who are not sunni are shia, with anything outside of these two being relegated to fringe branches. Other points of contention include certain practices viewed as innovating the religion, such as the mourning practice of tatbir. Many muslims however do not identify with either tradition, opting to identify as nondenominational similar to nondenominational christian churches. Sufism is a mystical-ascetic approach to Islam that seeks to find a direct personal experience of God. It is not a sect of Islam but rather a type of practice, and its adherents belong to the various Muslim denominations. Classical Sufi scholars have focused on the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God by making use of "intuitive and emotional faculties" that one must be trained to use. The Five Pillars The five pillars of Islam are the five acts that make up the core of religious practice. Most islamic groups agree on the general details of these, though some use different terminology to refer to them. Note how none of the pillars refer to morality in general. Most muslims consider morality in general a given, with the pillars being on top of it to be specific staples (We won't bother listing the general aspects, since they overlap heavily with most other moral aspects of any religion). However, in earlier times some considered morality to be a sixth pillar. The pillars are: 1: Faith is manfested in the declaration that there is only one God, and that Muhammad is God's messenger. This statement is seen as an important mantra that one must state and believe in in order to become a muslim. Faith can be expanded into what is called the six articles of faith. These being belief in God, angels, the holy books, the prophets, the day of judgement, and god's predestination. Predestination here does not mean in a calvinistic way that God chooses who goes to heaven. But rather that God knows all things as they will play out, and allows, them, pushing the world forward into how it will go as an allowance by his divine order. 2: Prayer is considered an important facet of Muslim practice. There are five times that one is meant to pray, while aimed towards the Kaaba. The prayer is accompanied by a series of set positions including; bowing with hands on knees, standing, prostrating and sitting in a special position. A Muslim may perform their prayer anywhere,.however, the mosque is considered the preferable place for prayers because the mosque allows for fellowship. 3: Charity. in proportion to one's wealth is seen as a necessary aspect of Islam, as a reminder that all one's wealth ultimately belongs to God. This is seen as helping offset poverty (reducing the gap between rich and poor being seen as an important facet of islam), and for the one giving a necessary facet of growth. The literal word for it, which is Zakat meaning purification and growth, defining this act as necessary for the sake of putting the giver in the right frame of mind as well. Charity is seen as a necessary facet of all muslims, though those who cannot give money themselves can replace it with other general acts of goodness towards others. 4: Fasting. Various fasts are undertaken by muslims. One important one is that during the month of Ramadan, Muslims are to if possible abstain from food from dawn until dusk. And is considered a necessary practice for all muslims who have undergone puberty save for those for whom it would be considered harmful to do so. The fasts are meant to be a reminder and focus to help one focus on God, and are meant to go hand in hand with attempts to more closely follow the precepts during this time. 5: Pilgrimage. The pillar of pilgrimage states that every Muslim for whom it would not be too great a task to undergo must at least once in their life visit the holy city of Mecca during the islamic holy month of Dhu al-Hijjah. At the end of this pilgrimage, they put on special clothes to walk around the Kaaba, which is considered the earthly special dwelling place of God, and which is where muslims generally pray aiming towards. From any point in the world, the direction facing the Kaaba is called the qibla. Speculation within islam differs on what exactly the Kaaba is, with some stating that it was the location of a shrine used by angels before the creation of mankind. And others stating that it was the first temple commanded to be built by God's orders, with the second being the temple in jerusalem. The kaaba was a place of worship by various pagan groups before islam was founded. And its relic is a black stone which according to muslim traditions dates to the time of adam and eve. References to the kaaba happen a few times. In sj, alilat appears in the form of the kaaba as shown below. Likewise, in 2001, the monolith that is the entrance to yhvh's universe is likely a reference to the kaaba. Law Sharia is the religious law forming part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam, particularly the Quran and the Hadith. In Arabic, the term shariah refers to God's divine law. This ambiguous terminology is reflected in the concept itself, because while it does have social implications, implying a particular order society should be run by, as well as specific structure by which to run jurisprudence and an ideal government, it also has aspects which refer to living life in accordance with God’s will. Sharia does not imply that the religious texts alone contain all answers, but that human reason in conjunction with the transcendental knowledge imparted from them can help reach it. Halal refers to what is permissible or lawful in traditional Islamic law. It is particularly applied to permissible food and drinks. In the Quran, the word halal is contrasted with haram (forbidden). In Islamic jurisprudence this binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification known as “the five decisions”: mandatory, recommended, neutral, reprehensible, and forbidden. Islamic jurists disagree on whether the term halal covers the first three or the first four of these categories. In recent times, Islamic movements seeking to mobilize the masses and authors writing for a popular audience have emphasized the simpler distinction of halal and haram. Islamic jurisprudence relates to these categories, and how to approach them. Pigs are seen as haram to eat, as well as blood or meat offered to pagan gods. Note that although the hijab head scarves for women are seen as a facet of modesty by many, the religion itself doesn't state this as a requirement, it merely being an interpretation of the standards. Jihad means "to strive or struggle" (in the way of God). Depending on the object being a visible enemy, the Devil, and aspects of one's own self (such as sinful desires), different categories of jihad are defined. Jihad, when used without any qualifier, is understood in its military aspect. Jihad also refers to one's striving to attain religious and moral perfection. Some Muslim authorities, especially among the Shi'a and Sufis, distinguish between the "greater jihad", which pertains to spiritual self-perfection, and the "lesser jihad", defined as warfare. Jihad is defined by jurisprudence as whatever military action is seen as acceptable, with all others being forbidden. Classically it had a tone of whether enemy states were a threat to the wellbeing of muslim communities. (interestingly presuming that it was non muslims doing the attacking / oppressing worked into the concept). Jihad is presumed to be defensive / retaliation for wrongs, with purely offensive jihad being limited to divinely ordained commands, something that are not seen as occurring in modern day. It shows up as an attack in game. Shirk is the sin of practicing idolatry or polytheism. Islam considers other abrahamic monotheists to be "people of the book" who are while not in full accord with islam given a special intermediary status of trying to approach the true god incorrectly. Monotheism is called tawhid. Shirk translates loosely to sharing, in the sense of sharing the position of god with other beings. An interesting thing here is that islam considers atheism to be a type of polytheism. Because in the sense of sharing the role of authority, the role designates the highest beings, and as such the concept refers to placing this role on any beings other than allah. And so atheists are seen as an implicit type of polytheist, designating a human centered spiritual dynamic. While this is presumably not an explicit inspiration for megaten, the fact that there aren't really atheists per say in the universe commonly, so much as human centered spiritual dynamics at most is relevant. Figures God in islam like in most monotheistic abrahamic religion is seen as all powerful, all knowing and all good. Islam stresses the one-ness of God, seeing the christian trinity as a mistaken idea, and Jesus as a mere prophet. In Islam, there are 99 known names of God (al-asmāʼ al-ḥusná lit. meaning: "The best names"), each of which evokes a distinct attribute of God. Similarly to the names of god in kabbalah (which show up as separate avatars in game) Islam stresses the uniqueness of God, and says that one should not try to compare God to anything, god being too unique to coherently do so. Although visual images depicting figures literally in islamic art is already considered incorrect, this emphasis is stressed even further for God himself, with any attempt to depict him being seen as fundamentally an attempt to limit or describe what is indescribable. Islamic religious art often focusing more on symbols or geometric shapes. Note that the term "Allah" is not limited to Islam alone. It is simply the word for God in Arabic. So it is likewise used by Christians from the area. Angels. According to Islam, similarly to most forms of modern judaism, angels do not have free will, and therefore worship and obey God in total obedience. Angels' duties include communicating revelations from God, glorifying God, recording every person's actions, and taking a person's soul at the time of death. Muslims believe that angels are made of light, and can have various amounts of pairs of wings. Jinn, along with humans and angels are one of the three sapient creations of God. The Quran says that the jinn were created from a smokeless and "scorching fire", but are also physical in nature, being able to interact with people and objects and likewise be acted upon. Unlike angels, jinn are seen as having free will, and so are capable of evil. Jinn who become evil are called Satans, and are the equivalent of demons in christian tradition. The equivalent of the christian devil is called Iblis, and comes from the jinn, rather than the angels, as the angels are incapable of evil. Note that despite being spirits, the jinn are seen as more analogous to humans than to angels. The social organization of the jinn community resembles that of humans; e.g., they have kings, courts of law, weddings, mourning rituals and even practice religion. Jinn do not have direct knowledge of God, so it is possible for jinn to be unbelievers. Jinn have different power levels, and can appear to humans in different forms. Many pagan gods are seen as evil (or even merely ignorant) jinn having appeared to humans to mislead them. Jinn like humans will be judged for their deeds at the end of time. (note that the concept of the genie in the west refers to jinn). Jinn were created and dominated the world before humanity. But their society became corrupted. And God sent messengers to them to repent but they did not. Eventually God had to send angels to put down the issue, and created humanity as a replacement for them on earth. Despite this conflation of pagan gods with rebels from gods design, jinn shows up merely as a random enemy in a few megaten games, and no plot based element is tied to this. Jinn are also strongly associated with what islam calls the imaginal realm. This is a realm where entities with a non physical nature can take on tangible existence. As a world where emotions become predominant, it affects our world through dreams and psychological functions. This seems to be something like how the demon world works in megaten games. Ifrit. In Arabic mythology the Efreets (meaning: strong one) are considered a type of jinn that were typically portrayed as spirits of fire. The Efreet is the second most powerful form of jinn after the marid. It is written in the Qur'an that when King Solomon asked all the creatures who could bring back the throne of the Queen of Sheba the fastest, an Efreet represented the jinn and boldly stated that he was best suited to the task. However he was outperformed by means of a prayer. In more popular culture Efreets (better known as Ifrits) are powerful spirits that embody fire. They generally consider themselves superior to all other races because of their age and deeply resent that humans have found a way to mystically control them. When summoned, they will do the bidding of their master but will often try to twist their wishes to do harm to others. It has shown up in several gamesl, looking similar to the jinn unit except in red. Israfel is the angel who will blow the trumpet at the end of time. According to the hadith, Israfil is the angel responsible for signaling the coming of Qiyamah (Judgment Day) by blowing a horn. Israfel, pictured to the right is one of the few islam-exclusive angels to show up in the games. In game, these islamic angels simply show up with the other angels as part of the heavenly host, being of course abrahamic figures. Since the few islamic references there are in series are slanted to law, we can consider it as being depicted slanting law even though it is the least referenced major religion, being less referenced than even most minor or dead religions. Iblis '''is the analogue of satan from christianity. He was a jinn who was cast out of heaven for refusing to bow to adam. The primary characteristic of Iblis is hubris; not only did he deem himself a superior creation to Adam, he also demonstrated arrogance by challenging God's judgment in commanding him to prostrate. His primary activity is to incite humans and jinn to commit evil through deception, which is referred to as "whispering into the hearts." The Quran mentions that satans are the assistants of those who disbelieve in God: "We have made the evil ones friends to those without faith. Iblis by that name in megaten only shows up in devil children. Lucifer in game is of course an analogue of the figure, but is depicted in a more christian light than islamic, being a fallen angel. '''Gabriel is the angel of revelation, and is the one who is seen as revealing the quaran to muhammad. Gabriel is seen as the angel who communicated with all prophets. Although gabriel does show up in the games, the fact that so little references to islam in any overt way are made makes it a better bet to interpret these figures through a christian or jewish lens. The irony being that since the abrahanic religions overlap so much, there is implicitly islamic oriented content, but much of it is not meant to be islam themed in its depiction. Michael is seen as an angel who provides nourishment for bodies and souls. Michael is depicted as the archangel of mercy who is responsible for bringing rain and thunder to Earth. Azrael also known as Malak al-maut, is the angel of death. He is responsible for parting the soul from the body of the dead. Azrael commonly shows up in fiction in general, being a common name used for angels of death. The name azrael itself seems to not be an official name, but one given to the figure. Pictured to the right, he has an obviously middle east oriented tone. And shows up as an npc in strange journey, and a boss in iva. Muhammad '''is the prophet and founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was God's Messenger, sent to confirm the essential teachings of monotheism preached previously by Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. He is viewed as the final prophet of God in primary branches of Islam, though some modern denominations diverge from this belief. Muhammad united Arabia into a single Muslim polity and ensured that his teachings, practices, and the Quran, formed the basis of Islamic religious belief. Born around 570 AD in the city of Mecca, Muhammad was orphaned at an early age. Later, he would periodically seclude himself in a mountain cave for several nights of prayer; later, at age 40, he reported being visited by Gabriel in the cave, where he stated he received his first revelation from God. Three years later, in 610, he began preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to him is the right course of action, and that he was a prophet and messenger of God, similar to the other prophets in Islam. '''Peri. In Persian mythology and Armenian mythology, the peri (Persian: پری‎‎ pari, plural پريان pariān) are exquisite, winged fairy-like spirits ranking between angels and evil spirits. They sometimes visit the realm of mortals. In earlier sources, they are described as agents of evil who have been denied paradise until they have done penance; later, they are benevolent. With the spread of Islam through Persia, the pari (or peri in Turkish) was integrated into Islamic folklore. They are often regarded as a kind of good jinn, while the evil ones are often identified by Persians with the divs. According to the Persian exegesis of the Qurʼan Tafsir al-Tabari, the peris are beautiful female spirits created by God after the vicious divs. They mostly believe in God and are benevolent to mankind. They are still part of some folklore and accordingly they appear to humans, sometimes punishing hunters in the mountains who are disrespectful or waste resources, or even abducting young humans for their social events. She shows up as a law aligned demon. Houri are mystical spirits that exist in heaven according to the teachings of Islam. The Houri are described as being modest, beautiful virgins that linger in Paradise. They are hairless, other than on their heads; transparent to the marrow of their bones; and eternally young. They are extremely pure and despite most descriptions being of women, the original Arabic term can refer to a beautiful, pure companion of either gender (which is also referenced in the Qur'an). The Qur'an describes that anyone who enters paradise is promised a beautiful companion of their opposite gender (which refers to the houri) and becomes an houri. It shows up as a demon in a few games, but as a character in SMTII where there is the sidequest of houri / fury's robe, and your potential need to use it to sneak in to various places. Interestingly, despite the association with heaven in islam, it is found instead in the abyss. Al-Burāq is a steed in Islamic mythology, a creature from the heavens that transported the prophets. Most notably Buraq carried the Islamic prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem and back during the Isra and Mi'raj or "Night Journey",1 as recounted in hadith literature. Near East and Persian art almost always portrays Buraq with a human face, a portrayal that found its way into Indian and Persian Islamic art. Yet no hadiths or early Islamic references allude to it having a humanoid face. This may have been originated from a misrepresentation or translation from Arabic to Persian of texts and stories describing the winged steed as a "beautiful faced creature". It is said to move so quickly that after delivering muhammad, it returned to catch a pot that had started to fall before it left on its journey. It shows up in soul hackers as a holy race demon. And has peacock feathers attached to it. It also looks semi mechanical. Alilat. Al-Lat was one of three main idols alongside al-'Uzza and al-Manat worshipped by the people of Mecca before the message of Islam was spread by the prophet Muhammad. Its origins are traced from the traditions of Sumerian civilization brought to pre-Islamic Arabia by merchants and nomads who idolized stones in their daily life. In one instance, it is regarded as a goddess, and had a son Dusura, who was idolized by the people of Petra in ancient Jordan. Alilat is associated with the morning star, which is also associated with Venus.In the past it was used as a title for early gods such as asherah or ereshkigal. Alilat appears as the single demon of the Geist race and as a powerful boss in Sector Grus in a New Game Plus EX Mission in strange journey. In that capacity, she serves as the lock holding back the power of the Demiurge, who is seeking to reassemble itself. She possesses several highly damaging attacks such as Megidolaon, and can charge it up with Mind Charge for complete wipeouts, or even use Diarahan to fully restore herself to full health. Alilat, she says that yhvh even with the lock shattered, cannot do anything to avert the revival of the "goddess-worshipping world he once trampled." Its appearance in that capacity may be a reference to islam trampling her worship. Replayed in that in-game you defeat her to bring back demiurge. (unless you reseal him). Her appearance is likely meant to resemble the islamic kaaba, showing how the site was originally used by pagans. This is doubly likely due to being associated with saladin in soul hackers. Shaytan is the islamic term for demons. The head of the shaytan is iblis, who is the equivalent of the christian satan. And the term shaytan is of course related to the word satan, and often translated into english as satans. Demons in islam are not fallen angels, since angels are not sen as having the ability to rebel against god. One interpretation of them is as a term that is for evil jinn. Another interpretation is that to counter angels who cannot do evil, they area race that cannot do good. It shows up in devil summoner as yoma race, and again in deep strange journey as a demon who talks about wanting to challenge alex, then later becoming obsessed with her deciding he was in love with her, and appearing as her demon in the bad ends. The punk aesthetic is liekly related to its nature of being rebellious against god. Zaccoum. In Islam, the Zaqqum (or "Zaccoum") is a demonic and foul fruit-bearing tree that grows in the depths of Jahannam, the Islamic name for hell. It is mentioned in the Qu'ran that the souls that dwell within Jahannam are compelled to eat the bitter fruit that grows from it, but it only serves to intensify their torment. It is one of only two things that the Khati'un, a group of sinners who never believed in Allah or helped the needy, are allowed to eat. It is either the fruit of Zaccoum or Ghislin, the foul pus that comes from washing their wounds. The fruit itself is said to be shaped like the heads of devils, and once ingested will churn in the stomachs of the sinners like boiling oil causing them immense agony. It shows up in-game as a dark law demon. Saladin was a Kurdish Muslim who became the first Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt and Syria. He led Islamic opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant. At the height of his power, he ruled over Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Hejaz, and Yemen. He led the Muslims against the Crusaders and eventually recaptured Palestine from the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem after his victory in the Battle of Hattin. As such, he is a notable figure in Kurdish, Arab, and Muslim culture. Saladin was a strict adherent of Sunni Islam and a disciple of the Qadiri Sufi order. His chivalrous behavior was noted by Christian chroniclers, especially in the accounts of the siege of Kerak in Moab, and despite being the nemesis of the Crusaders he won the respect of many of them, including Richard the Lionheart; rather than becoming a hated figure in Europe, he became a celebrated example of the principles of chivalry. He shows up in soul hackers as hero race. Eschatology Islam believes in the day of judgement, which comes at the end of the world, and leads to the annihilation of all life, judgement and then ressurection. Before the end, a future as of yet redeemer will come, known as the mahdi and aided by Jesus will wage a struggle against the false messiah, and ultimately convert the entire world to islam. Whether this figure is yet to be born or not is left ambiguous, but his identity is unknown. Throughout history, various individuals have claimed to be the Mahdi. Note that the character of messiah in game is depicted as a nonspecific archetypal future figure. At the end, there will be a resurrection of the dead, and judgement. The righteous are rewarded with pleasures of Jannah (Paradise), while the unrighteous are punished in Jahannam (Hell). Heavy emphasis in terms of righteousness is placed on both works as well as religious duties, with following false gods counting heavily against you. Other abrahamic faiths however are considered people of the book and are judged more leniently than pagans. At the point of annihilation it specifies that nothing will remain except god, but from then he shall bring forth back life for the resurrection.